Article ID | Journal | Published Year | Pages | File Type |
---|---|---|---|---|
9610149 | Catalysis Today | 2005 | 8 Pages |
Abstract
Several petroleum vacuum residues and a Maya asphaltene have been examined using size exclusion chromatography (SEC), using 1-methyl-2-pyrrolidinone as eluent. Aliphatic components are not dissolved in this solvent. All the samples showed a bimodal distribution. Material under the early eluting peak, excluded from column porosity corresponded to apparently very large molecular masses. The later eluting peak corresponded to molecules with a smaller range of masses and was relatively intense. The material excluded from column porosity is concentrated in the heptane-insoluble fraction; the peak of this fraction corresponding to smaller molecules shifted to earlier times than was found for the whole sample. In UV-fluorescence spectrometry, the heptane-insoluble materials did not fluoresce strongly. Materials excluded from column porosity showed no fluorescence, indicating that UV-fluorescence based methods are unable to detect high mass materials. MALDI-mass spectrometry indicated a bimodal distribution for the Maya asphaltene with a mass range up to m/z 40,000. Comparison of the low mass range of the spectrum with the small-size molecules detected by SEC indicated broad agreement for masses up to about 5000Â u. However, if the excluded peak of SEC corresponds to the higher mass range up to m/z 40,000, then it is likely that these molecules are adopting three-dimensional conformations. Data from the hydrocracking of heavy oils was used to confirm some of the outlined findings.
Related Topics
Physical Sciences and Engineering
Chemical Engineering
Catalysis
Authors
Marcos Millan, Mahtab Behrouzi, Fatma Karaca, Trevor J. Morgan, Alan A. Herod, Rafael Kandiyoti,